Chapter 247

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Chapter 247

Xerath didn’t hesitate and loudly recited the spell of "Blizzard."

The spell "Blizzard" is a complex incantation formed by many compound words. If translated into common language, it would roughly mean "Open the Elemental Gate of water, I command the water elemental on the left to solidify into ice, and the one on the right to solidify into water. Each group contains six trillion, with water and ice mixing together, forming a circle with its geometric center as the core, while maintaining a distance of one inch between each core, descending at a rate of one yard per sand."

However, nothing happened. Not even the "water" obeyed her command. Her own voice echoed in the empty hall, sounding somewhat unfamiliar. She keenly noticed a slight difference between the echo and her original voice. Upon careful listening, it turned out to be completely different from what she had just said.

She widened her eyes in astonishment. Her hands were controlled, and even the words she spoke were distorted. She had never heard of such dark magic before.

Lacrima laughed even more cheerfully, "This is the ‘language curse.’ Your words can no longer convey your thoughts. No one in the world, except for you and me, can understand what you’re saying anymore. Feeling lonely, archmage?"

Xerath angrily turned her head, the icy sensation seeping back into her body, bringing much relief to her physical discomfort.

"By the way, I haven’t asked you, where is Sylas?"

Xerath was slightly surprised when she heard Sylas’s words. She had thought that Sylas’s deceased mother had launched a sudden attack while Sylas was not at home, but judging from her tone, it seems she missed the opportunity?

Seeing her confusion, Lacrima shook her head and said, "My dear, do you really think that you alone deserve all the effort I have put into preparing for all these years? Although you are precious, you are not as valuable as my extraordinary daughter."

"You cannot find her!"

"I may not be able to find her, but she will have to come find you, right?" With her bony hand chillingly gripping her chin, Xerath unconsciously walked deeper into the library, finally realizing that something was not right over there in the darkness.

The circular ring of the portal was pushed down from its base, and now there was nothing left of the once glowing blue runic symbols. The Lich had cut off her only means of escape.

Lacrima let out a deep sigh and said, "I had prepared something amazing for her. There are many ways to become a Lich, but the simplest, least painful, and most memory-retaining one is like this."

She walked to the depths of the library, with the shadow following her closely. Tirelessly, it helped her lift the heavy stone portal and place it back into its base, then she walked back briskly. One by one, the transport runes started to glow.

Xerath understood her plan: she was mimicking Sylas’s actions when coming out of the portal. Walking in big strides, Lacrima stood in front of her and said, "Do you believe that Sylas will kneel here? She will even hug you." At the tip of the decaying skeletal hand, a cluster of purple-black flames emerged, slowly burning away to reveal an evil ritual circle, which then disappeared into the ground. On each of the five points of the evil pentagram, she placed a broken dagger, a piece of finger bone, a rose nourished by the body of a prematurely deceased sibling, an ancient coin, and… her mother’s ashes.

"Using an altar with the broken dagger that killed your grandfather, the finger bone that was severed from a living person, the rose nurtured with the corpse of a sibling who died young, an ancestral portrait, and your mother’s ashes will gather the power of these shadows. By concentrating your mind to pierce through, the lantern will guide her soul to the land of the dead – it’s too perfect, too ingenious. The person who invented this highly efficient transformation spell must be a genius…" She couldn’t help but applaud herself, the sound of the dry bones clattering against each other.

"By the way, when the dark power fills your body, you may feel a suffocating pain. I don’t know if you have experienced it – a stabbing pain in your lungs, sinking body, being submerged in icy water – hahaha – I haven’t experienced it either."

"But after that, you will become a Lich."

Xerath suddenly struggled and tried to move towards the side, even breaking free from the shadows on her hands. But thicker shadows enveloped her, invisible threads holding her limbs. She was fixed back into her own evil ritual circle. Lacrima walked over and said, "Do you want to commit suicide? Do you think falling out will be enough? No… you will rot in agony. The deathly aura is already inside you. Do you expect it to coexist with the breath of the living? However, the process of infusion will be long. I think it will last until Sylas comes back for dinner, right?"

Xerath frowned and stared at the Portal, praying to the gods for the first time, "If you don’t want an inevitable disaster, please don’t let her come back."

The headquarters of the Oversight Committee was a place where people worked twenty-four hours a day. Working overtime was common, but being in a high position had its privileges. Diego Westcounty had greeted everyone today. It was his twentieth wedding anniversary, and he insisted on leaving work on time and going to have a candlelit dinner with Lillian, which had been booked two months in advance. Unless the sky fell, no one was allowed to disturb them.

Great! The hourglass points to six o’clock, everything is peaceful. There were no emergencies until quitting time." Diego eagerly rushed out of the office and walked onto the street. He called a carriage to the predetermined location. Lillian also finished work and was sitting in the room waiting for him. He approached her very gentlemanly and kissed Lillian’s hand, whispering, "I hope I haven’t made you wait too long.

"I just arrived too. It took me a long time to leave everything at home behind. I hope no one will disturb us tonight."

"I promised them. I told them not to find me unless the sky falls."

Lillian chuckled, without covering her mouth to pretend to be a lady in front of Diego. This lovely man always made her laugh. "What if the sky really does fall?"

"You and I both know this is impossible."

Someone knocked on the door, probably the waiter getting ready to serve the food. Diego raised his voice slightly and said, "Come in!"

Indeed, it was a waiter wearing a shirt and a waistcoat, but behind him was an unexpected guest, his subordinate, an inspector wearing a black wizard’s robe.

Diego saw him and his face immediately changed. He got up, pulled him to the side, and mumbled through his teeth, "I hope you’re here to represent all colleagues and wish me a happy wedding anniversary, not to tell me that everything has gone wrong."

"I’m sorry, sir, I really wanted to wish you a happy wedding anniversary today and then have an adorable daughter. But, everything has gone wrong."

"Where did everything go wrong?!"

His subordinate leaned close to his ear and said, "archmage Xerath’s statue has started to decay and crumble."

Diego couldn’t help but hold his chest, feeling the breath becoming tight.

Everything has gone wrong. He looked at Lillian helplessly, and she responded with an understanding smile. "Darling, I know you always have to take care of things before everything goes wrong."

"Do you know, dear, I always feel like I should commit suicide in front of you as a way of apologizing."

Lillian smiled and kissed his face, saying, "Don’t say gloomy things. You know I’ve never blamed you for this. Go save the world, my hero."

Now it was the subordinate’s turn to hold his chest and feel like he couldn’t catch his breath.

Diego hurriedly followed the subordinate out of the restaurant and immediately got on a carriage.

When the archmage is conferred, all the mages in the council will cast a spell together, applying a perception spell on the archmage that links his life with the sculpture stored in the headquarters. When an archmage’s statue starts to decay and crumble (instead of immediately shattering), it means that he is being threatened by the breath of death. And since nothing can threaten the life of an archmage, it means that the archmage is transforming into a Lich, drawing his own life force and filling himself with a corrupt power.

There are many people who can reverse this process, mainly those priests, clerics, and paladins who have a special affinity for the Holy Light. The Holy Light can wash away darkness. If the darkness can be purified before the statue completely crumbles, the mage will not become a Lich. But of course, his house will be thoroughly searched, all research related to shadow magic will be confiscated and burned, and he will be under lifelong surveillance, unable to leave the headquarters "prison."

But Xerath lives in the center of the desert, and there are rumors that she intentionally built her tower in such an inaccessible place for ordinary people, so she could transform into a Lich undisturbed. This, of course, is nonsense. If she became a Lich, the whole world would know.

"Sir, according to regulations, we should immediately issue a wanted order and send an S-class mission to the adventurers guilds worldwide."

Diego impatiently knocked on the door of the carriage, "I know, just wait a bit. We should first take people to conquer Aimekotes."

"This is the problem, boss. The Mage Guild in Withered Leaf City was attacked. The archmage’s apprentice and a female staff member left the guild and went to Tabletop Mountain City. The staff member reported this incident in Tabletop Mountain City."

"Then what happened?"

"When the special team from Tabletop Mountain City arrived in Withered Leaf City, they found the staff in the guild either dead or injured. Aimekotes’ Portal was not working."

If the Portal is not working, it means one end is broken, and it’s likely that Xerath herself destroyed it on the other side. So, her intentions are now clear.

"Technically, you shouldn’t interfere in this matter…" But if Diego doesn’t interfere, no one else can handle it. They have the highest level of authority and the guild’s permission to demand cooperation from the Oversight Committee in various locations. "I’ve called everyone together. You have full command. Let’s solve this before those old men realize what’s happening."